Comments on: Willie Mays was a total jerk to Hank Aaronhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/
Baseball. Baseball. And then a bit more baseball.Tue, 20 Mar 2018 02:31:59 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.com/By: kaiser suggshttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47026
Thu, 20 May 2010 13:26:27 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47026hey hank aaron what you doing at home and i just want to no how to play baset ball and i want to no howto play can you theach me please.
]]>By: alizhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47025
Mon, 10 May 2010 14:24:15 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47025Jim Hirsch says:
As the author of the Willie Mays biography, I welcome all debates about these two great players. The debate appears to be about Aaron’s feelings toward Mays.
To which I say: Look at the record.
Aaron has known Mays for 56 years. In that time he’s given thousands of interviews and has written an autobiography (“I Had A Hammer”). I interviewed him for over an hour, and I specifically asked him how he felt about Mays as a player and a person.
If Aaron has had any problems with how Mays treated him, he’s had ample opportunity to express them. He never has, and that should tell you something.
I haven’t read Bryant’s book, but there is nothing in Barra’s excerpt that indicates how Aaron felt about Mays. No quotes or paraphrases of quotes or even comments from others speaking on behalf of Aaron. That should tell you something.
It should be noted as well that there is no record of Mays ever speaking unfavorably about Aaron, either as players or in retirement. (Mays was a notorious bench jockey who razzed opposing players relentlessly, which is evidenced in the 1957 story.)
Those of us who were at Bob Costas’s HBO interview with Aaron and Mays saw them in the Green Room before the show, sitting side by side for over an hour, laughing together, telling stories, teasing each other, and acting like — dare I even say the word — friends.
A final comment: Either Bryant or Barra is accusing Mays of resenting Aaron for surpassing him in home runs and breaking Ruth’s record. In fact, as early as 1966, Mays publicly acknowledged that, given his age, he could not break Ruth’s record, and there is nothing in the record that suggests he begrudged Aaron’s success. However, Mays’s friends and fans have long lamented that Mays — but for his time in the army and the ballparks he played in — would have been the first to break 714, and these friends regret that Mays refuses to make the case for himself that he should have been the Home Run King.
In some quarters, Mays’s reticence has a name. It is humility.
]]>By: Rays fanhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47024
Sat, 08 May 2010 00:27:36 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47024+2 to Fordham for producing 2 of my favorite frequent contributors–COPO and Old Gator.
+1 to FJR too, for all the work–thanks.
]]>By: FJRinLAhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47023
Fri, 07 May 2010 12:18:12 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47023Hi Ron,
Pls see excerpt below from the Truman Library:http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/desegregation/large/index.php?action=chronology
This summarized chronology shows that the military, with many bases in the South, just ignored the President a la Douglass MacArthur and per Gen. Omar Bradley who was Secretary of the Army at the time and said integration will come to the Army after it has come to the rest of society.
Also pls remember that Jackie Robinson was the first to not give up his seat on a bus…it was an Army bus and he was courtmartialed for it and thrown out of the military during WWII.
Desegregation of the Armed Forces: Chronology
1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1953
1945
September 1945: Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson appoints a board of three general officers to investigate the Army’s policy with respect to African-Americans and to prepare a new policy that would provide for the efficient use of African-Americans in the Army. This board is called the Gillem Board, after its chairman, General Alvan C. Gillem, Jr.
October 1, 1945: The Gillem Board holds its first meeting. Four months of investigation follow.
1946
February 1946: African-American World War II veteran Isaac Woodard is attacked and blinded by policemen in Aiken, South Carolina.
April 1946: The report of the Gillem Board, “Utilization of Negro Manpower in the Postwar Army Policy,” is issued. The report concludes that the Army’s future policy should be to “eliminate, at the earliest practicable moment, any special consideration based on race.” The report, however, does not question that segregation would continue to underlie the Army’s policy toward African-Americans. Secretary of the Army Kenneth Royall later characterized the policy recommended by the Gillem Board as “equality of opportunity on the basis of segregation.”
July 1946: Two African-American veterans and their wives are taken from their car near Monroe, Georgia, by a white mob and shot to death; their bodies are found to contain 60 bullets.
July 30, 1946: Attorney General Tom Clark announces that President Truman has instructed the Justice Department to “proceed with all its resources to investigate [the Monroe, Georgia atrocity] and other crimes of oppression so as to ascertain if any Federal statute can be applied.”
September 12, 1946: In a letter to the National Urban League, President Truman says that the government has “an obligation to see that the civil rights of every citizen are fully and equally protected.”
December 6, 1946: President Truman appoints the President’s Committee on Civil Rights.
1947
May 1947: The President’s Advisory Commission on Universal Training gives a report to the President in which it concludes that “nothing could be more tragic for the future attitude of our people, and for the unity of our Nation, than a program [referring to the Truman administration’s proposed Universal Military Training program] in which our Federal Government forced our young manhood to live for a period of time in an atmosphere which emphasized or bred class or racial difference.”
October 29, 1947: The President\’s Committee on Civil Rights issues its landmark report, To Secure These Rights. The report condemns segregation wherever it exists and criticizes specifically segregation in the armed forces. The report recommends legislation and administrative action “to end immediately all discrimination and segregation based on race, color, creed or national origin in…all branches of the Armed Services.”
November 1947: Clark Clifford presents a lengthy memorandum to President Truman which argues that the civil rights issue and the African-American vote are important elements in a winning strategy for the 1948 campaign.
November 1947: A. Philip Randolph and Grant Reynolds organize the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training..
1948
January 1948: President Truman decides to end segregation in the armed forces and the civil service through administrative action (executive order) rather than through legislation.
February 2, 1948: President Truman announces in a special message to Congress on civil rights issues that he has “instructed the Secretary of Defense to take steps to have the remaining instances of discrimination in the armed services eliminated as rapidly as possible.”
March 22, 1948: African-American leaders meet with President Truman and urge him to insist on antisegregation amendments in the legislation being considered in Congress that would reinstitute the draft..
March 27, 1948: Twenty African-American organizations meeting in New York City issue the “Declaration of Negro Voters,” which demands, among other things, “that every vestige of segregation and discrimination in the armed forces be forthwith abolished.”
March 30, 1948: A. Philip Randolph, representing the Committee Against Jim Crow in Military Service and Training, testifies to the Senate Armed Services Committee that African-Americans would refuse to serve in the armed forces if a proposed new draft law does not forbid segregation.
April 26, 1948: Sixteen African-American leaders tell Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal that African-Americans will react strongly unless the armed forces end segregation.
May 1948: President Truman’s staff considers advising the President to create a committee to oversee the integration of the armed forces.
June 26, 1948: A. Philip Randolph announces the formation of the League for Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation. Randolph informed President Truman on June 29, 1948 that unless the President issued an executive order ending segregation in the armed forces, African-American youth would resist the draft law.
July 13, 1948: The platform committee at the Democratic National Convention rejects a recommendation put forward by Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey of Minneapolis calling for abolition of segregation in the armed forces. President Truman and his advisors support and the platform committee approves a moderate platform plank on civil rights intended to placate the South.
July 14, 1948: Delegates to the Democratic National Convention vote to overrule the platform committee and the Truman administration in favor of a liberal civil rights plank, one that called for, among other things, the desegregation of the armed forces.
Immediately following July 14, 1948: While his staff is drafting an executive order that would end segregation in the armed forces, President Truman decides to include in the order the establishment of a presidential committee to implement the order.
July 26, 1948: President Truman signs Executive Order 9981, which states, “It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin.” The order also establishes the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and opportunity in the Armed Services.
July 26, 1948: Army staff officers state anonymously to the press that Executive Order 9981 does not specifically forbid segregation in the Army.
July 27, 1948: Army Chief of Staff General Omar N. Bradley states that desegregation will come to the Army only when it becomes a fact in the rest of American society.
July 29, 1948: President Truman states in a press conference that the intent of Executive Order 9981 is to end segregation in the armed forces.
August 2, 1948: Democratic National Committee chairman J. Howard McGrath meets with A. Philip Randolph and other leaders representing an organization called the League for Non-violent Civil Disobedience Against Military Segregation and assures them that the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services would seek to end segregation in the armed forces. A short time after this meeting, Randolph announced that his organization’s civil disobedience campaign had ended.
August 14, 1948: Secretary of the Army Kenneth Royall is reported in the press to have admitted that “segregation in the Army must go,” but not immediately.
]]>By: johnhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47022
Fri, 07 May 2010 10:14:59 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47022I have met both Aaron & Mays on numerous occasions. Without doubt Willie Mays is a cranky old man. Many fans complain how at autograph signings he will (on purpose) sign items over other peoples signatures. He won’t even look up when asked to have his picture taken. And don’t even think about shaking his hand. I am
so sorry I ever met him. He went from an idol to an idiot. Never had any problem of any kind with Mr. Aaron. And for all of Bond’s drug fueled homeruns, He, still, will NEVER be in the Hall of Fame, unless they have a wing titled “Better Baseball Through Chemistry”.
]]>By: Michael Raehttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-4/#comment-47021
Fri, 07 May 2010 00:37:42 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47021Well when you think of the remarks that Aaron has made against Bonds and the fact that Aaron has said that an asterisk should be next to Bonds name for the altime home run lead, add to the fact that Mays is Bonds god son. It should not surpise no one that there is no love between Mays and Aaron. As for Aaron, I have always thought he was a kiss ass and they are the worst to me. yeah he worked hard but i get the feeling he looks down his nose at people who dont kiss ass and quite frankly im glad Barry Bonds broke his career home run record. So for all you Bonds haters out there get over it he hit more balls out of the park than Aaron period.
]]>By: FJRinLAhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47020
Thu, 06 May 2010 23:23:35 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47020Not so fast Peter,
In the Babe’s early days they counted Ground-Rule Doubles as homers… i.e., if the ball bounced over or in some cases rolled under or got stuck in the fence/wall were considered homeruns… the batter could just keep running.
There are really no statistics on this so we don’t know how many of Babe’s homers would have been doubles or even more important, how many more homeruns Mays/Aaron would have had if they could keep running on batted balls that bounced or rolled out of the stadium.
What we do know is that these balls did not become doubles until 1930, and Ruth played from 1914-1935 with the bulk of his homeruns coming before 1930. So he definitely benefited from this rule…. there is no objective measure that allows you to claim that Ruth should remain the HR king in anyone’s eyes. I think Mays and Aaron were both better all-around players AND better homerun hitters because they were better line drive hitters.
]]>By: FJRinLAhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47019
Thu, 06 May 2010 23:04:07 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47019In the Babe’s early days they counted Ground-Rule Doubles as homers… i.e., if the ball bounced over or in some cases rolled under or got stuck in the fence/wall were considered homeruns… the batter could just keep running.
There are really no statistics on this so we don’t know how many of Babe’s homers would have been doubles or even more important, how many more homeruns Mays/Aaron would have had if they could keep running on batted balls that bounced or rolled out of the stadium.
What we do know is that these balls did not become doubles until 1930, and Ruth played from 1914-1935 with the bulk of his homeruns coming before 1930. So he definitely benefited from this rule…. there is no objective measure that allows you to claim that Ruth should remain the HR king in anyone’s eyes. I think Mays and Aaron were both better all-around players AND better homerun hitters because they were better line drive hitters.
]]>By: A Different Craighttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47018
Thu, 06 May 2010 19:27:50 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47018To publish this kind of stuff on Willie Mays’ 79th birthday is pretty bush league. Were you just gunning for attention? The man is a living legend and probably deserves more respect from a writer of your (lack of) stature.
]]>By: Old Gatorhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47017
Thu, 06 May 2010 19:24:13 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47017Trust me, the handle sticks. I was an older undergrad – I went to flight school first in 1968, then to Fordham in 1972, transferring a few distributed credits to knock off the equivalent of a semester, so you don’t have to waste any fingers counting wrong and scratching loose any dandruff. I don’t think they were filming The Exorcist but Margaret Mead and Marshall McLuhan were visiting professors, and Vaughan Deering, who was so old he may already have been dead but didn’t know it, was a drama professor. He had been Bela Lugosi’s voice coach when Lugosi was playing Dracula on Broadway prior to his immortalization (such as vampires are immortalized) by Hollywood. I have an awesome Lugosi story from Deering but I don’t think Craig would appreciate it as much as my old Mantle story. Craig would have to ask me for it first and then be willing to take the consequences.
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Incidentally, a former associate dean who was long gone to Bellarmine College in Louisville when you were there, Jay McGowan, was an old pal of mine. Matter of fact to celebrate my MA and thank him for putting up with me all those years – it will come as no surprise to you that I was a colossal pain in the ass back then – I got a couple of tickets to see the Borg in the World Series and took him to the game. Which game? Heh, Game 6, 1977, of course. Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!
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I don’t know the book you referred to but will toddle over to Amazon and have a look at it. I’m knitting together a bunch of articles written over the last thirty years or so (dear Buddha!) into a cohesive study on the influence of jazz on the styles of some major fiction writers, and since Ellison, Morrison, Ishmael Reed, Baraka/Jones, Baldwin and Wright are all covered herein I want to make sure I’m not playing too far back to field a bunt or two.
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Still have trouble thinking ill of Willie, though. He was such a joy to watch out there.
]]>By: Ronhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47016
Thu, 06 May 2010 18:10:18 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47016Thanks. Interesting. I wasn’t aware of this. I’m sure they got around it by stating it wasn’t a segregated unit, and then only filling it with black soldiers. I can see that happening. Jim Crow was also in effect then.
]]>By: peterhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47015
Thu, 06 May 2010 18:04:55 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47015Just a side comment on how both Mays ( who might have ) and Aaron ( who did ) pass the babe in total home runs-what most people forget to add is that they both had a significant number of at-bats -more than Ruth had! Didn’t Aaron have like 3-4000 more at bats? Also Ruth played a number of years as a pitcher and also they played a 154 game schedule back then, not the 162 like at present. When you come down to it, nobody did it better than the babe!
]]>By: FJRinLAhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47014
Thu, 06 May 2010 17:02:44 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47014Hi Ron,
I will have to ask my dad… but he probably doesn’t even remember. But I grew up in NYC where my dad was an Executive Chauffeur in the 60’s & 70’s; and I do remember some of his war buddies and how they still kidded each other derisively and often with the “N-Word”.
Your post made me google something that may be useful to you… it appears that Truman’s Executive Order was treated like the XIII Amendment to the Constitution which technically set Blacks free and gave them all the Constitutional rights they were still marching on Washington for 100 years later. Here is an excerpt from that book:http://www.ritesofpassage.org/mil_korea.htm
[“No changes.” The first question, of course, is why all-black units like the 24th Regiment still existed in 1951–three years after President Truman issued an executive order ending discrimination in the military. Lt. Gen. Julius Becton (Ret.), a veteran of combat in both Korea and Vietnam, provides one answer. He recalls doing summer training as a young black reserve lieutenant at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in 1948. “The post commander assembled all officers in the theater and he read Executive Order 9981 [Truman’s anti-discrimination order], and then he said: `Now, gentlemen, as long as I am in command, there will be no changes. There’ll be Officers Club No. 1 and Officers Club No. 2; NCO Club No. 1 and No. 2; swimming pool No. 1 and No. 2.’ That was stated by a colonel carrying out the orders, as he interpreted them, of the president of the United States. Now what does that do to the blacks sitting in that audience?”]
]]>By: FJRinLAhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47013
Thu, 06 May 2010 16:52:43 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47013And Thank You for calling me out on the “drinking” reference, I really had no factual support for that and was more describing Ruth than Mays in furthering my analogy.
So I actually learned something new today to hear that he was non-alcoholic, which actually isn’t surprising.
Since I’m posting again, I’d like to address a couple other comments/posts/references here that require clarification… one accused Mays of using Performance-enhancing drugs or PEDs like other modern-day athletes.
I can only assume this person was referring to “greenies” or amphetamines that were passed out by team officials and trainers in the clubhouse and were so prevalent that it could hardly be argued that they gave anyone a clear advantage on the field… it was more intended to keep everyone awake. Being a non-drinker, I doubt this allegation is true. But then again, being the go-along to get-along type among white players that Aaron was critical of, Mays probably would succumb to the peer pressure and be more likely to take the pills more to not single out less-gifted players than for any perceived need for an advantage….. this is particularly the case since he didn’t drink and since he has always believed he was the best and that no one else was close.
I also want readers to look at his chiding Aaron about what the Braves were paying him in that 1957-context of a small but growing cadre of deep-south ex-Negro Leaguers beginning to populate big league teams. Owners definitely paid according to scale and would reference what other owners were paying high profile players to get all players, black or white, to accept less. Since Aaron was 3 years removed from rejecting an offer from Mays’ Giants, maybe Mays, at worse, is still ribbing him to see how that $50/month more feels like now…. maybe Mays knew the Giants were more likely to pay Aaron for performance better than the Braves… maybe his audience is not just Aaron but the reporters and the owners to help report that Aaron and other Negro players weren’t being paid fairly or just to isolate the Braves then as getting Aaron for a steal.
And finally someone compared it to Ali’s making fun of Joe Frazier which I also think is a stretch and entirely inappropriate.T
Though that reader mistakenly referred to Joe “Louis” instead, I assume he saw the same boxing documentary from Joe Frazier’s perspective that I did. I had known some of that backstory but that documentary definitely influenced my view of Ali and knocked down SEVERAL pegs in my eyes. He was clearly and purposefully demeaning to Joe Frazier in a way that this post seeks to attribute to Mays…. but nothing could be further from the truth…..
…. first of all, Mays was more like Frazier who was from South Carolina, before Philly…. apolitical and more likely to be made out to be apathetic and somewhat of a “white folks’ N’-word” by the more socially-conscious athletes like Ali, Jim Brown and Aaron who were more active in the civil rights movement. Joe Louis and Jackie Robinson were their favorite targets in the 60’s because those two fought in WWII and Mays followed in their tradition.
Mays’ comments here are not in any way malicious and personally degrading like Ali calling Frazier an ugly gorilla. Black people affectionately call their friends the N-word every day… calling one an ugly ape would trigger a heavyweight fight in any context.
And let’s not the title of Richard Pryor’s 1970s album, “That ‘N-word’s Crazy” was not referring to his mental capacity, but rather was meant to convey his boldness and irreverence. Likewise, Mays’ comments to Aaron were definitely more Negro-League, barnstorming, batting-cage ribbing of a younger player than anything else. They just had more of an edgy feel for the use of the N-word and the content about wages with its labor market implications…maybe Mays just wanted to remind Aaron he would have been making more if Aaron had accepted the Giants contract to join him in NY.
]]>By: Ronhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47012
Thu, 06 May 2010 16:25:12 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47012Just as a matter of curiosty, what unit were your father and Willie Mays in while in Korea? The reason I ask is that, after Harry desegregated the military in ’47, it was against federal law and military law to have segregated units.
Just from my time in the Army, and in Korea, and studying history, I’m not aware of any segregated units in Korea. I’m not saying there weren’t, I’m just curious about it since it was a complete violation of law.
Keeping in mind that a predominately black unit is not necessarily a segregated one.
]]>By: makhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47011
Thu, 06 May 2010 15:59:06 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47011Until we acutally hear from Hank (and i think he is to classy to react) then we dont know. And lets everyone remember, as far as willie being upset that hank got to the record first. Hank had 2500 more at bats then ruth. As far as willie being the best ever, Ruth was also a great pitcher. so who is to say. Maris broke the record, just like hank broke the record.
Barry, Mark, roger etc should all go to the Hall. As you have yet to see how many pitchers were on the juice. yeah mark it made you stronger, but folks dont forget strenght does not equate to hand eys.
Oh and as far as Barry, guess what look at him in his pittsburg days, then fast forward a few yrs, he got hugh, how many homers did he hit on the juice.
we cant wipe out the era, its engrained, if barry gets in, they all have to get in.
]]>By: Oldtimerhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47010
Thu, 06 May 2010 15:47:41 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47010Isn’t this a telling story. What it tells is that back in the 50’s and 60’s we judged a player on how good he was on the field, not how many times he threw up in a bar. I remember both of those players well from that time and know that each had a major impact on the game. Willie could do everything, not well, but great. Hank had the most compact swing anyone has ever seen. It produced a lot of dingers and excitement. What possible good does it do now to bring this stuff up? They were the heroes of my youth and I, for one, would like to remember them that way.
]]>By: oldgunslingwefanhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47009
Thu, 06 May 2010 15:29:11 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47009Thank you for being so articulate and for dispelling these falsehoods. Everything you said in your post is truly accurate except Willie shunned alcohol so the alcohol/gambling analogy with Ruth isn’t entirely correct. Willie was the greatest baseball player and perhaps the greatest athelete who ever lived. I have met him and he is a true gentleman. His tireless devotion to kids and fans in general made him so popular among whites that when the Giants moved from N.Y. it was like the city had lost a national treasure. His relationship with Leo Durocher was like a father/son more than a mgr/player. The majority of posters here no little about Willie and can be excused because of their ages. You and I have been around a bit and understand what type of man Willie is and also remember his brilliance and love of the game. People, please do some research before being so judgemental. Once again thank you for your inciteful remarks.
]]>By: uncle mikehttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47008
Thu, 06 May 2010 15:18:35 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47008Willie Mays has always been disrepectful of Hank Aaron because Hank would not back-up Barry Bonds on all his shenanigans. Mr. Aaron is by the book and old school. So I can see Willie being more bothered by Hank because Bonds is his loving godson. Is that why Barry is always idolizing Mays, and not Mr. Aaron
]]>By: oknhttp://mlb.nbcsports.com/2010/05/06/willie-mays-was-a-total-jerk-to-hank-aaron/comment-page-3/#comment-47007
Thu, 06 May 2010 14:17:38 +0000http://localhost/wp/nbchbt/?p=5799#comment-47007Tell me this book isn’t about the rivalry only? Tell me some writer didn’t produce a book dedicated to showing everyone how much of an ass or nice guy Mays and Aaron were, respectively.
And, let’s be clear, one man’s teasing is another man’s insult. There are many players of all kinds of games that mock and tease without meaning any serious offense. (That doesn’t mean someone’s feels don’t get hurt, but that might not have been the intent, either.
Some folks are also inclinded to take offense when none is meant. That first quote, in it’s content could be a simple razzing without the intent to insult, totally belittle, or disrespect a person. I’ve heard much worse from Charles Barkely teasing fellow players regularly on some interview or commentary. But, he’s just messing around. He doesn’t mean anything by it.
So, What is the point here? A book on Aaron that focuses on what an ass Willie Mays was? Are you sure this book is about Aaron?
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